John Calipari - In The News

John Calipari has had some amazing success in recruiting these days. Some would say WWW has a "fee" to get "into the club" for recruiting success. How does one hide a payment like that? Well, perhaps coincidence, but John Calipari restructured his coaching contract with Kentucky after only one year. Who was his agent for the first time ever? World Wide Wes. Pretty penny for Wes, and not tied to a single recruit. Recruiting just keeps on rolling for Calipari....

Monday, November 28, 2011

This was an interesting retweet the other day. Sadly, going back a few weeks will now find it removed. Either way, look slike 1/2 the team were not getting their game face on. As you might expect - it was retweeted by a Cardinal fan...not by a Kentucky fan.

Friday, November 11, 2011

2:30 am - reports were UK player Stacey Poole, and a student were struck by a drunk driver. Honestly, that sucks. Send the drunk driver to jail.

8:30 am - the story grows to "Terrence Jones fled the scene, because he was worried that the drunk driver would hurt him". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Terrence Jones is 6'9", 240lbs, and by default....that means he left is teammate behind to DIE.

It turns up Terrence Jones later in order to be questioned by police. They gave him a breathalyzer. The results?....wait for it....wait for it... Lexington Police: "Oh, it didn't work".

Calipari posts a bullshit message on his website to cover it up. Nobody believes it, except UK fans of course. They would believe anything. A fun test would be if Calipari told them they were UofL fans, and they all started wearing red shirts. I bet it would work.

Some National Pundits chiming in on Twitter.

Dan Wolken
*Also interesting, Calipari's statement references a "driver" of the car Jones/Poole but doesn't say who it is. Very odd.

*So a 6-foot-9, 240-pound guy left the scene of a car accident because he was afraid of the drunk guy who hit him? Hmm.

*The driver of Terrence Jones' car was a high school teammate from Portland, Ore., who is also in school at Kentucky. That's interesting.

Garry Parrish
*Cal says T Jones left the scene b/c of fear of an altercation with another driver. So he just left a teammate there alone? Come on, man.

*I know why a person might leave the scene of an accident. That's not usually the reason. Very reasonable to be skeptical of that story.

Jeff Goodman
*I'm still shocked that John Calipari doesn't already have a curfew in place - after the multitude of issues he had with his guys at Memphis.

*It'll be interesting to see what other details come out of this Terrence Jones/Stacey Poole accident

Interesting Side note: Terrence Jones UK "running mate" pays out of state tuition, and...wait for it...drives a BMW 5 series. Very nice. Percentage Likelihood that this is "legit", less than 10%. Too bad they can't subpoena his bank account. I bet he has a lot of fun cash for them both to use.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Ever wonder how UK struggled to get a 5 star recruit on campus for about 8 years (had about 3), but now miraculously average 4 per year starting with Day 1 of Calipari's hiring at UK? He has to be paying these players right? He has to be paying the nefarious World Wide Wes to get this guys to UK, right?

Well he just might be, with creative accounting.

World Wide Wes: He first popped onto the scene as the guy holding back a few NBA players in the "Ron Artest Fights The Fans" incident. His business model was simple. I just facilitate - I don't charge anyone for my services. He was a Mortgage Broker at the time. So....while he didn't charge anyone, they would refinance their homes with him. That is hefty commissions when you are talking about NBA players homes. Hefty.

Mortgage Business lost its fervor over the years. He becomes an agent. Everyone was up in arms, because they knew he shuffled players to Calipari, so "How can an Agent Do This"? Well, he became a coaches agent, not a players agent.

He has to be getting paid right? He was a "Friend to the Memphis program" Calipari once said, so why is he now all of a sudden a "Friend to the Kentucky program"? There has to be a reason. The obvious common thread is Calipari, so he has to be paying him for his services right?

Well he is, indirectly...

Since he is a coaches agent, he booked Calipari as one of his first clients. Guess who gets commission on Calipari's contract, or any coaches that "need his services"? It is a smart play really. I will help you. You hire me as your agent, and the commission on the contract is payment enough.

When World Wide Wes got his Coaches agent license (after Cal's first year at KY) he booked Calipari as a client. Calipari was making mega millions, and by all accounts had a disappointing finish in the tournament. 5 first round draft picks, and no final four appearance. No need to renegotiate a contract after only 1 year right? Wrong. The contract "re-negotiation" began. This one will pay WWW commissions.

Writer John Clay is scratching his head why they restructured a 1 year old, mega millions contract, but we know why... click here.

They completed the deal in June, 2011. It was a sweet one, filled with increased annual retention bonuses. World Wide Wes is happy. Kentucky Recruiting continues to roll. A contract Break Down can be seen here.

It is good business, and untraceable cash. Look for other "clients" of World Wide Wes have top players in their programs, as he is a peddler of one hot commodity - college superstars. Smart.

How does this stop? Cut off the 1 year wait rule. Wes can't make "Nike Contract" promises to kids out of the top 25. They just aren't good enough.

Calipari doesn't want a media storm on this, so he settled before it became a full fledged lawsuit. Smart move.

@deadspin: Derrick Rose and John Calipari Are Paying Back Memphis Fans For That Title Game They Cheated Their Way Into"

The Memphis Commercial Appeal is reporting:

"Calipari and Rose, according to the settlement agreement obtained Thursday by The Commercial Appeal, agreed on May 28, 2010, to pay a total of $100,000 to the three attorneys -- Martin Zummach, Frank L. Watson III and William Burns -- who were representing, in the agreement's words, "certain ticket holders." The amount was to be disbursed "as they agree among themselves."

Calipari, who left Memphis after the 2008-09 season for the University of Kentucky, also agreed to donate his bonus to the U of M scholarship fund. The agreement approximated the value of the bonus at $232,000."

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Demarcus Cousins made news nationally when he forearmed the head of Louisville's Jared Swopshire into the court. Most national pundits felt that he should have been immediately suspended for a "combative action". The UK fans? Well it was Jared's fault, because when the two were playing tug of war with the ball...Cousins weight nearly doubled his. They accused Jared of trying to knee him in the head. Jared has always had a reputation of being a quiet hardworking kid. What was Cousin's reputation? It was something like this clip below, which likely happened for the 100th time in his career.

This was an "exhibition" game.

Also of note, noticed the UK fans boo the refs when they called DC for this "bogus" foul. Then turn around and cheer DC for his heroic act.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Remember when UK and Coach John Calipari celebrated th 500th win of his career? Well, the NCAA wants the ball back. Since he has had 2 vacated seasons for shady dealings under his watch, turns out he is just short of 500. UK nor Calipari could care less about the whole "following the rules" as they both hold records temselves in that category. UK is the most penalized school in NCAA history. John Calipari has the most final fours stripped of any coach in NCAA history. Honorable on both couts, but seriously....give us the ball back.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Jay Z, a huge redneck fan, thought he would jump in the UK locker room after their victory over UNC. You know, because that is a huge win. UNC beat 3 top 25 teams this year, and none of those were as a road game - so they are like...awesome.

Billy Packer discusses that lack of control Calipari intentionally exudes will get him one of these days.

Don't get me wrong, Calipari has an eye for detail. Look how good he spots and corrects Free Throws (See stripped Memphis Final, and Kentucky Semi's). However, it seems the recruiting violation stigma just keeps coming up roses.

Here is a Fox News article on how DeMarcus Cousins choose UK, and the guy who was not to be making contact - making contact, including word from Cousins himself about it.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

I believe a fan base will follow its leader. I think that leader can excite them, or in UK's case incite them... into a riot.

UK fans ran to Kanter's side after the NCAA ruled, "professional basketball players should not play in amateur leagues", shocking announcement. Calipari was upset with the ruling as they ruined the poor guys "future" (drama- he'll be a millionaire).

Twitter comments made by UK fans made them famous for crazy. However, the NCAA Prez got tired of the life threatening posts on Facebook, and blocked them (and everyone) from posting on the Facebook wall. The NCAA is taking every threat seriously, and the UK fans doing this need to know...you can be held liable for your threats.

To those doing it: Grow up. Learn to love basketball, and something else. You cant just love basketball apparently. You are becoming a liability to your team.

The media is slowly realizing what fans across the country have known all along- while passionate; this behavior is not cute like a puppy.

Once again, Enes Kanter is a pro, and not allowed to play amateur sports.

This comes to no surprise to anyone - except UK supporters, naturally. One of which is Matt Jones, a UK homer that get license to blog for CBS through his relationship he formed with Greg Doyle, has an epic lengthed blog entry today. It is hard to read, because the teardrops bleed some of the words. He is supposed to provide a "national perspective", but he violated the rule with his novel sized rant opposing the NCAA decision that "the nation" agreed with. One nation disagreed, "Big Blue Nation", but as it turns out - that is a smaller nation than Matt Jones realizes.

The simple fact - something that Matt Jones has a hard time with, is you can't change your mind on being a pro.

I have heard every argument:

1. "He gave up millions": It isn't about what you give up, it is about what you take. They took cash. A lot of it. The NCAA knocked off as much as humanly possible to get it to 33K, but there was still 33K sitting in bank (they promised to use it for education). He played on a professional team, playing in a professional league, and had a contract that the average American adult would be jealous of..

2. "He wants to be an Amatuer, He wants to play College": I don't doubt it, but you can't change your mind. Once you are a pro, you are a pro. That is the point of it all. However, I can ABSOLUTELY see why you want to play in the NCAA for 1 year. The NCAA can make you a household name. They can market you like none other. You don't even have to pay them. All you do is play for a team that gets on national TV - and as long as you are as good as you say - you get MILLIONS of marketing dollars for free in exchange for dunks. You make them money, they make you famous - you go pro, and guess what? You make MORE cash than if you jumped anonymously from Europe. Put it this way, have any of you heard of Enes Kanter before he stepped foot in America? Nope. That is why Calipari is appealing, and keeping him on staff, and keeping the conversation going. He is helping this pro continue to get free press (marketing), and maybe Kanter will talk up UK to the next Turkish star. Calipari takes notes kids. He is good at refining the "back door cut" through the NCAA rulebook. This will only happen once.

3. "Selby did it": No he didn't. He didn't play in a pro league. He didn't play on a pro team, and he didn't have a pro contract. He did have things paid for him on travel, and I agree they should throw the book at him too, but don't make these guys the same. The 72K salary that Kanter received is actually a decently size contract as the best of the best sometimes only make 150K. If equating to Selby - the best of the best in the NBA make 10 million a year - so Selby needs his other $4,995,000 back. They ruled he owed 5K. Again, I am for taking Selby down. The more grey area you have - the harder and wilder the decision making process becomes. You take money - or you don't. Done.

People we are hearing from?

1. UK Fans "bad side": Although the NCAA ruled Kanter down, Pete Thaymel is getting nothing short of teroristic threats. He was the one that brought the story on Kanter's money. They laughed at him when the Alabama School Board ruled against their hired committee's findings (see here), but they aren't laughing now. I have read amazingly evil threats to this man. PS Cat fans, that is a felony. I know it happens "all the time in my house". That is not cool in the real world. To see some good ones check out Card Chronical here:

2. Greg Doyle plays the UK fans hard. We should be hearing from him, but we aren't. They think he loves them. They love that he is one of the few that will stick up for him. What they don't realize is he is trying to offer a unique perspective - that UK does it the right way. It is unique, because nobody is saying that. He gets hit, after hit, after hit, after hit, on his articles - and his guest appearances on Matt Jones radio show in KY solidify them (see Matt Jones now blogs for CBS/relationship formed). Did you know that Greg Doyle himself said that Kanter should not be eligible? UK fans would go crazy over that news. Put it this way - have you seen a commentary from Greg Doyle on this? Does the bad boy of sports commentary EVER hold his thoughts back on national sports stories? He is keeping quiet folks - doesn't want to make ole "bread and butter" mad right now, and apparently can't write an article that would be a lie - so no article.

3. Calipari: “We are obviously disappointed in this decision and find it unfortunate that a group of adults would come to such a decision regarding the future of an 18-year-old young man." The future of this young man? It wasn't school. It was to make millions the NBA. Is that not going to happen now? Calipari is a piece of work. Kanter wanted the NCAA TV marketing so he could jump to the NBA as a household name. He will have to settle for print media. Still worked.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

UK fans are quick to judge. However, not when it applies to them. Let's take a nice stroll with Calipari, and see what this tough coach will tolerate. As it turns out, he only accepts "everything, as long as it helps me win".

Thursday, October 14, 2010

John Calipari played 1 top 10 ranked team last year...and lost. He will tell you why in this commentary. However, I can't help but to think he ran into a talented team that had on its bench...wait for it...a coach. A coach that has been around the block and actually understands the game. He tied UK's rookies into knots.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The last time “The documents we have provided the N.C.A.A. with should have been sufficient to decide.” Eric Bledsoe was getting A's in Algebra 3 in a night class with the Alabama School board saying "You betchya, those grades are his...".

Friday, October 8, 2010

A lot has been said by the media on the "genius" that is dribble drive. If you let the media "dribble drive" your opinions for you - you might think it is genius. If you are a basketball fan, and drive your own conclusions, like me, you see it for what it is. Street ball. Drive past your guy - if you are open, shoot, if not - pass to the teammate which defender stepped towards you. All you need is the best basketball players in America to do this consistently - and what do you know. Calipari gets them. The players do the work, and Calipari takes the credit. The players don't complain, because all they have to do is play pickup all the time, and that is fun. No silly "rules" or "plays" or "discipline" to hassle with.

Turns out Doron Lamb picked up the wildly genius "Dribble Drive" in about 10 minutes.

Lamb came to Kentucky for one reason. He wanted to play for John Calipari because of his success developing guards. As for the dribble drive, "I think it's the easiest offense in the world because it's spread, and you can do whatever you want, not really but you can take your man if you want and just go to the rack."

Keep developing those guards Calipari. Just make sure you don't pick up anyone outside the top 20. Like Dodson. Turns out you can't "develop" anyone outside of the top 20.